How to remove press-fit bottom bracket bearings in 12 easy steps

I own what is beyond doubt the best tool ever created for press fit bottom brackets - its a 14lb sledge hammer and it works wonders compressing them into as tiny a space as possible so they don't take up to much room in the recycle bin... the best place for them imho.

To those who commented on taking their bike(s) to the LBS to get this job "done properly" not all shops have a bearing press so therefore there is little difference between you hammering it out and them hammering it out!

P.S. yes some LBS's are wonderful.....but some aren't

I'd regard myself as a reasonably able amateur mechanic with patience and mechanical sympathy, but this is one where I'd take it to the LBS.

It's not so much the removal, it's that removal implies reinstallation, and I've found it's very easy to get press fit bearings to start go in at an angle using the more basic home mechanic tools.

For me the £20 to the LBS is a price worth paying versus the high cost consequence of getting it wrong.  That's why I hate press fit BBs with a passion!

(Plus, with the removal, I don't have enough experience to know what's a normal amount of hammer force to need to apply and what suggests a bigger issue that may require cutting the old BB shell out or the like)

BSA ,it’s so fucking easy ,press fit this press fit that . So many different sizes for something that worked fine .  My cervelo build has BSA , so fucking easy service.

Now I’m going to totally contradict myself . My other bike is a custom guru ,it’s fucking light , the issue was that  the BSA thread started spinning in the frame “ fucked “ so they replaced it with press fit 30 . I use THM  cranks and use their BB which is so easy to install . You just screw both sides together.  That simple , you only need the THM wrench and thats it . Not a single creak since it’s been on and before the THM I have sisl2 crank on and I used the wheels manufacturing BB which also Joins up in the middle and again not a creak . But BSA is still king for me . You can get titanium BSA shells which would make more sense than the standard alloy ones . Ti and carbon is a much better mix  ,galvanic corrosion no more . 

I think that a bearing press would be better. To remove the old bearings and replace with new ones. I would take it to the bike shop and get the job done there.

its not as if a job like this needs to be done frequently. 

Why would I care about damaging the bearing? If it's OK leave it alone. It if needs replacing making it worse dosent matter.

Is anyone else just slightly alarmed by the idea that you are going to bash out the most often replaced bearing using a hammer on materials that are particulary vulnerable - aluminium and cabon fibre - to shocks, distortion and dimensional stability from wear? 

I agree with the post above regarding hitting the inner race and reusing the bearings. The Park and FSA BB30 (and similar) tools all locate on the inner race (for legitimate reasons) but you then hammer against that inner race. That is putting far more side load onto the bearings than they would ever see when installed, and I would argue is going to mean that the bearing in question shouldn't be used again. If you intend to re-use the bearing then it would make more sense to drift it out applying force only to the OUTER race. That way the rollers/balls and retaining cage are seeing no load at all. It is after all the rollers/balls and the races they run in that are fundamental to the smooth running and long life of the unit. The difficulty with this is of course finding enough purchase on the outer race to dislodge it evenly/squarely and not damage the bearing seats of the frame itself. If the bearing slides out easily then you could argue that the loads applied are not that great and within the safe limits of the bearing, but I know how hard I had to hammer the bearings of my bike yesterday to dislodge some VERY tight fitting old bearings. I certainly would want to refit those ones! Of course this isn't a concern if you are planning to replace the old worn out bearings anyway, which I imagine is the only reason to do the job for most people.

One important tip when hammering the bearing extraction tool -

• Use a metal hammer

You need the instant impact force a metal hammer gives to move the bearing. If you use a rubber or woodern hammer, it will be a more drawn-out blow which doesn't shift the bearing and the energy ends up going into the frame around the BB. With a rubber hammer, instead of one or two sharp blows to get the bearing out, your spend ages belting away getting nowhere and just flexing the frame adversely.

One other point, I disagree with the reason* for only aligning an extraction tool to the inner race of the bearing, as IMO you are still at risk of damaging the bearing. The reason for aligning the tool to the inner race is instead to ensure you don't damage the carbon frame (or on a BB30 the soft  metal BB wall) which is right next to the outer bearing. On a PF bearing you can usually extract it with one metal hammer blow and not damage the bearing, but extracting from a BB30 takes few hits and I always replace the bearing in that case.

*but not where to align - I very much agree you should align to the inner race